Of the six semi-finalists, three have gone through to the final heat, including:

• Andras Lakesi - food and drink manager at The Principal hotel (London)
• Kierran McLoughlin - ground floor general manager at Hide restaurant (Piccadilly)
• Jatin Parmar - Old Hall food and beverage manager at Rockliffe Hall hotel (County Durham)

Judge and Réunion des Gastronomes vice president, Alison Frith, said: "We interviewed our six shortlisted candidates and were very impressed with all of them.

"It was encouraging to note that we were unanimous in our choice of the final three this year. But we have a truly stellar line up of highly experienced hospitality professionals, all with very strong track records… I fear the next decision will be far more difficult!"

The winner will be announced at its 100^th Annual Banquet in November, who will take home the prize ‘worth in excess of £3,000’: invitations to five further Gastronome events in the following year; mentoring and networking opportunities from the membership; Associate membership of the Réunion des Gastronomes for up to two years; and up to four two-day stages across different industry sectors.